How do phone numbers facilitate digital inclusion?
Posted: Sat May 24, 2025 4:18 am
The potential for phone numbers to become obsolete for communication is a topic of increasing debate, driven by rapid advancements in internet-based communication and evolving user behaviors. While a complete disappearance of phone numbers in the near future is unlikely due to their deeply embedded role in global infrastructure, their dominance as the primary mode of personal communication is steadily diminishing.
Drivers of Potential Obsolescence:
Rise of Internet-Based Communication Platforms: The most significant factor is the pervasive adoption of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and Over-the-Top (OTT) messaging applications. Platforms like WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram, Viber, Zoom, and Google Meet allow users to make voice and video calls, send rich messages (text, photos, videos, documents), and create group chats using only an internet connection. Many people already conduct the majority of their personal communication through these apps, bypassing traditional cellular voice and SMS services entirely. These apps identify users by usernames, email addresses, or internal IDs, rather than directly by a dialable phone number, even if a phone number is used for initial registration.
Shift to App-Centric Communication: Modern communication is increasingly app-centric. Users open a specific application to communicate with specific contacts, rather than relying on a universal dialing pad or SMS app tied to a phone number. This trend is evident in both personal and professional spheres (e.g., Slack, Microsoft Teams for work).
Emergence of New Identifiers:
Email Addresses and Usernames: For many online services, an email address or a unique username (e.g., a gaming handle, a social media ID) serves as the primary identifier, with phone numbers often relegated to recovery or optional authentication.
Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs): Technologies like DIDs, part of the Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) movement, aim to provide cryptographically verifiable, self-owned identifiers that are not tied to any central authority (like a telecom provider) or a phone number. In a DID-centric future, individuals could communicate and verify their identity romania phone number list using these decentralized identifiers, offering enhanced privacy and security.
IoT Device Identifiers: The massive growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) means billions of devices require connectivity. Most of these devices (sensors, smart appliances, industrial machines) don't need or use traditional phone numbers. Instead, they rely on identifiers like IPv6 addresses, MAC addresses, or dedicated machine identities, further diversifying the numbering landscape away from the MSISDN.
Security Vulnerabilities of Phone Numbers: Phone numbers are susceptible to security threats such as SIM swap fraud, number spoofing, and smishing attacks. These vulnerabilities make SMS-based OTPs (One-Time Passwords) a less reliable method for two-factor authentication (2FA). Newer authentication methods like passkeys and behavioral biometrics offer more robust, phishing-resistant alternatives that reduce reliance on phone numbers for critical security functions.
Reasons for Persistence and Slow Obsolescence:
Despite the forces pushing for change, phone numbers are unlikely to become completely obsolete in the near term for several key reasons:
Ubiquity and Legacy Infrastructure: Phone numbers are deeply embedded in global telecommunications infrastructure, emergency services (e.g., 911, or 999 in Bangladesh for national help desk and emergency services), regulatory frameworks, and human habit. Migrating away from this universally understood system would be an enormous, costly, and complex undertaking.
Simplicity and Accessibility: Phone numbers are simple to remember, widely understood, and do not require a smartphone or internet access to function (for basic voice calls and SMS on feature phones). This makes them crucial for digital inclusion, especially in developing regions like Bangladesh, where mobile phones are the primary means of internet access and for accessing essential services for many citizens, including those in rural or marginalized communities.
Basic Communication and Critical Alerts: Even if general communication shifts to apps, SMS still serves as a highly reliable channel for critical alerts (e.g., bank transaction notifications, government warnings, delivery updates), which are universally supported across all mobile phones. Mobile financial services (MFS) in Bangladesh, like bKash and Nagad, are heavily reliant on phone numbers and SMS for transactions and notifications, playing a pivotal role in financial inclusion for the unbanked.
Regulatory Requirements: Many existing laws and regulations for identity verification, emergency contact, and service provision are built around the phone number as a primary identifier. Changing these would require significant legislative efforts. For instance, Bangladesh's biometric SIM registration ties the phone number directly to a verified national ID, strengthening its role as a primary digital identity anchor.
The Likely Future: A Hybrid Landscape
The most probable scenario is a hybrid future where phone numbers coexist with a proliferation of other digital identifiers. For human-to-human personal communication, internet-based apps will continue to grow in dominance. However, phone numbers will remain vital for:
Emergency services.
Basic, universal connectivity, especially for feature phone users.
A fallback or recovery mechanism for various online accounts.
The underlying anchor for advanced identity layers (like verified digital identities) that build on top of the phone number's existing KYC foundation.
While the "dialing a number" for everyday conversation may indeed become a relic of the past, the underlying phone number as a registered identifier and a crucial component of network infrastructure will likely persist for the foreseeable future.
Drivers of Potential Obsolescence:
Rise of Internet-Based Communication Platforms: The most significant factor is the pervasive adoption of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and Over-the-Top (OTT) messaging applications. Platforms like WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram, Viber, Zoom, and Google Meet allow users to make voice and video calls, send rich messages (text, photos, videos, documents), and create group chats using only an internet connection. Many people already conduct the majority of their personal communication through these apps, bypassing traditional cellular voice and SMS services entirely. These apps identify users by usernames, email addresses, or internal IDs, rather than directly by a dialable phone number, even if a phone number is used for initial registration.
Shift to App-Centric Communication: Modern communication is increasingly app-centric. Users open a specific application to communicate with specific contacts, rather than relying on a universal dialing pad or SMS app tied to a phone number. This trend is evident in both personal and professional spheres (e.g., Slack, Microsoft Teams for work).
Emergence of New Identifiers:
Email Addresses and Usernames: For many online services, an email address or a unique username (e.g., a gaming handle, a social media ID) serves as the primary identifier, with phone numbers often relegated to recovery or optional authentication.
Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs): Technologies like DIDs, part of the Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) movement, aim to provide cryptographically verifiable, self-owned identifiers that are not tied to any central authority (like a telecom provider) or a phone number. In a DID-centric future, individuals could communicate and verify their identity romania phone number list using these decentralized identifiers, offering enhanced privacy and security.
IoT Device Identifiers: The massive growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) means billions of devices require connectivity. Most of these devices (sensors, smart appliances, industrial machines) don't need or use traditional phone numbers. Instead, they rely on identifiers like IPv6 addresses, MAC addresses, or dedicated machine identities, further diversifying the numbering landscape away from the MSISDN.
Security Vulnerabilities of Phone Numbers: Phone numbers are susceptible to security threats such as SIM swap fraud, number spoofing, and smishing attacks. These vulnerabilities make SMS-based OTPs (One-Time Passwords) a less reliable method for two-factor authentication (2FA). Newer authentication methods like passkeys and behavioral biometrics offer more robust, phishing-resistant alternatives that reduce reliance on phone numbers for critical security functions.
Reasons for Persistence and Slow Obsolescence:
Despite the forces pushing for change, phone numbers are unlikely to become completely obsolete in the near term for several key reasons:
Ubiquity and Legacy Infrastructure: Phone numbers are deeply embedded in global telecommunications infrastructure, emergency services (e.g., 911, or 999 in Bangladesh for national help desk and emergency services), regulatory frameworks, and human habit. Migrating away from this universally understood system would be an enormous, costly, and complex undertaking.
Simplicity and Accessibility: Phone numbers are simple to remember, widely understood, and do not require a smartphone or internet access to function (for basic voice calls and SMS on feature phones). This makes them crucial for digital inclusion, especially in developing regions like Bangladesh, where mobile phones are the primary means of internet access and for accessing essential services for many citizens, including those in rural or marginalized communities.
Basic Communication and Critical Alerts: Even if general communication shifts to apps, SMS still serves as a highly reliable channel for critical alerts (e.g., bank transaction notifications, government warnings, delivery updates), which are universally supported across all mobile phones. Mobile financial services (MFS) in Bangladesh, like bKash and Nagad, are heavily reliant on phone numbers and SMS for transactions and notifications, playing a pivotal role in financial inclusion for the unbanked.
Regulatory Requirements: Many existing laws and regulations for identity verification, emergency contact, and service provision are built around the phone number as a primary identifier. Changing these would require significant legislative efforts. For instance, Bangladesh's biometric SIM registration ties the phone number directly to a verified national ID, strengthening its role as a primary digital identity anchor.
The Likely Future: A Hybrid Landscape
The most probable scenario is a hybrid future where phone numbers coexist with a proliferation of other digital identifiers. For human-to-human personal communication, internet-based apps will continue to grow in dominance. However, phone numbers will remain vital for:
Emergency services.
Basic, universal connectivity, especially for feature phone users.
A fallback or recovery mechanism for various online accounts.
The underlying anchor for advanced identity layers (like verified digital identities) that build on top of the phone number's existing KYC foundation.
While the "dialing a number" for everyday conversation may indeed become a relic of the past, the underlying phone number as a registered identifier and a crucial component of network infrastructure will likely persist for the foreseeable future.